Microsoft Windows 8 is out, and with it comes an excellent Step Up promotion. This promotion will run from Nov 1 2012 through to Jan 31 2013. It includes a 40% discount on Open Value Agreement and Open LicenseAgreement with Software Assurance (SA) Volume Licensing Programs, and a 15% discount on Open License Agreement without SA. More about Microsoft Licensing here.

Simply put? That’s a 40% discount on Windows 8 Enterprise Edition with the benefits of SA, and a 15% discount on Windows 8 Pro without the benefits of SA.

Windows 8 Enterprise edition includes premium features designed to meet the mobile productivity, security, manageability, and virtualization needs of today’s businesses. These features include Windows To Go, DirectAccess, BrancheCache, AppLocker, and VDI Enhancements.

Software Assurance includes the right to Enterprise editions, flexible use rights, and other benefits including end-user and IT training and 24×7 support. Customers with Software Assurance also have the option to purchase MDOP with App-V, and other virtualization management products.

WARNING: With Microsoft Windows XP reaching end of support on April 8th, 2014, it is important that you move to a new version of Microsoft Windows desktop operating system, and the Step Up Promotion to Windows 8 Offer provides the perfect solution.

You can take advantage of the Windows 8 Promo and still deploy Windows 7 under downgrade rights. You can then deploy Windows 8 when it suits you.

Micromail are being contacted by more and more companies who are being faced with a software audit. We have in conjunction with one of the leading SAM vendors put together a white paper so that you are prepared for an audit as it’s a case of when rather than if…..

According to Gartner, there is a 65% chance of an organisation being audited by at least one software vendor. This figure is particularly worrying as audits not only tie-up resources but are also extremely costly (one company togged up a cost of $500,000). But audits happen for a good reason; it is reckoned that around $59 billion worth of software is used illegally (i.e. without a license) globally.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to minimise the impact that an audit would have on your company, as well as ensure that you are indeed in line with all legal requirements.

Interested? Click here for an executive white paper that explains everything you can do to prepare for (and prevent) an audit.

People often seem to think that software is a commodity – something you buy from a retailer which you then own and use. But in actual fact, with software, you license, not purchase it. Why? Well, when you license the software, the primary value comes not from an object (such as the disk it is stored on) but instead from the knowledge of the people who wrote the software – the ‘cleverness’, if you like. You can’t own that knowledge, you merely acquire a limited right to use it. Put simply, software is intellectual property.

It’s tricky to define or identify the value of intellectual property and thus, such things are copyrighted (copyrights, trademarks, and patents). This allows whoever owns the material, in this case, software to define who can access and use their property, protecting it from unauthorized use. This is in an attempt to define the value of the software.

In this line, a software license provides the legal right to install, use, access, display, run, or otherwise interact with a software program. This doesn’t always include right to media, manuals, or support. Remember checking the ‘I agree’ box whenever you install something? That is you agreeing to the terms of use of the software.

For the sixth consecutive year, Micromail has attained Microsoft Gold Competencies in Volume Licensing and Software Asset Management. This achievement places the company within the top 1 percent of Microsoft’s world-wide Partner Network, and demonstrates a “best-in-class” ability & commitment to meeting Microsoft customers’ needs in today’s dynamic business environment.

To earn a Microsoft gold competency, a company’s staff needs to successfully complete Microsoft Certified Professional exams to prove their level of technology expertise. The certified professionals are then designated uniquely to one Microsoft competency, ensuring a certain level of staffing capacity. Businesses must also submit customer references as evidence of successful projects, and implement a yearly customer satisfaction survey. They must also meet a revenue commitment (for most gold competencies), and pass technology and/or sales assessments. Microsoft technology competencies identify a partner’s capabilities, allowing customers to find qualified solution providers with expertise in specific areas.